Sprinkler irrigation necessary to enhance crop yields: TNAU VC

Coimbatore, Sep 11 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) Vice Chancellor Prof C Ramasamy today stressed the importance of using mobile sprinkler irrigation system to increase the yield of pulses and oilseeds in the country.

In his inaugural address on a 21-day training on ''Recent Advances in the Production and Utilisation of Pulses and Oilseed crops'', sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) here, he said as pulse and oilseed crops were grown in rainfed conditions, providing supplementary irrigation through mobile sprinklers would go a long way to enhance their production and productivity.

Since, use of sprinklers involves considerable cost, custom hiring should be promoted in the villages, he added.

He said policy support from the government side was also essential for large-scale adoption of this advanced technology by including subsidy component for the users.

The moisture management in pulse and oilseed crops could also be achieved by adopting sub-surface mulching technology. This involved sowing the seeds using seed drill, which could also incorporate the soil mulch simultaneously at desired depths, he added.

Dr Ramasamy informed that India is one of the largest producer, importer and consumer of both pulses and oilseeds globally. By current estimates, nearly 20-25 per cent of pulses and 50 per cent of edible oil is imported to meet the domestic requirements. The increase in per-capita income and the country's economic transformation caused a marked shift in domestic dietary patterns, which included increase in consumption of pulses and oilseeds, he said adding maintaining about four per cent annual growth rate in production of pulses and oilseeds was warranted for meeting the future demand.

While emphasising the importance of post-harvest operations and value addition for pulses, Dr Ramasamy informed that TNAU had recently obtained funding for an innovative project from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada to the tune of Rs 3 crore for developing value added products from pulses.